Gutter Vacs

[spanish pete]

Hi it would be interesting to know how many new window cleaners have gone out and brought a gutter vac as a add on service. The main Question is Has it been a good purchase ie has it brought in extra work that you wouldn't have got just cleaning windows or has it just been a very expensive ornament taking room up in the van.

 

[Tuffers]

I bought a gutter vac about 2 years ago. Tbh I don't rate them that much. Like how come a vac with 3000w leaves stuff in the gutter like dried moss and stuff? I use the Pro Gutter tools for most gutter jobs. Saying that I have a gutter job to do on Saturday and will try the vac on it first as access is a bit :turd: to do off a ladder. If the vac don't shift the muck the ladders will have to come off.

 

[Jimroot]

My vac doesn't leave anything behind accept a smattering of grounds. I think it's not just wattage but flow rate that governs it, efficiency

I'm finding people aren't willing to pay for gutter clearing at all, let alone by a ladder less method. My quotes are as low as I'm willing to go, which are certainly inline with comparisons I've made in here. I'd rather wait for well paid work than be busy though and if folk want damp issues and unsightly guttering its up to them

 

[koopmaster]

I have a 300 quid job tomorrow. But I have alliminuim poles and wish now I had carbon fibre poles. Thing I will buy some before Christmas.

 

[MrBump]

Got asked to quote for clearing some gutters recently and I don't fancy going up ladders all day if I can help it, this is an oversized 2 storey old house, taller than average. So I was thinking of getting a gutter vac. Got an action cam already to see up there. Thing is no point buying one unless it gets some use. Do you guys get much work or enquiries for gutter clearing with your vacs?

 

[Jimroot]

I'm not getting enough enquires to justify it yet bump, rather have spent the money on a van mounted system In Retrospect. Who knows, it might take off. I see gutters full of weeds everyday, people are happy to sit on that for years

No idea what @koopmaster is doing for £300 but sounds a good earner if I had a few of those I'd have a different opinion

 

[MrBump]

Yeah at £300 a pop you'd make your money back in a few jobs that's for sure /emoticons/biggrin.png I was thinking of just a standard £100 for most jobs, which would be my minimum charge too. No-one is going to get it done until its contents are visible from the ground and even then people have to even bother looking up there and no just at there front door too and from their house /emoticons/wink.png Do you try and upsell to all your window cleaning customers? How long have you had it for? I'm guessing sept-feb is the main season for it so if you only got it this year hopefully it will pick up for you :thumbsup:

 

[Jimroot]

bought it in February this year, did my house, then about 5 word of mouth (maybe I was more enthusiastic), broke my foot end of March and couldn't work for 2 months, . Done 3 in the last 2/3 months, just can't seem sell it at the doorstep or by flyer and now when canvassing I nearly never mention it.

Ive charged average £60 for the ubiquitous 1960's three bed semi, but upped my quotes to £65 to deal with hagglers. Even then, I've only got them where as you say, they're overflowing and dripping on cars and heads With small trees coming out

The main thing I've noticed that can really affect the job difficulty and time, is tile overhang. I'd add to that, if something goes wrong, how easy would it be to put right, say knocking a piece out. Or even dislodging your own gutter tool end section, smurf knew of that happening to someone, they couldn't reach it and had to leave it dangling.

 

[MrBump]

Doh breaking something sucks huh, you and me both out for 2 months, glad your back alright.

Hmmm its a tough choice isn't it. You got yours at the end of what I'd imagine is the end of the gutter season though, you'll know more if it was worth it next feb when its been a year, and theres been another years worth of rain and leaves dropping. Even at 1 a month, in a year it will be paid for and then next years is all profit.

Though is an extra hundred pounds a month worth all the extra effort and risk of damaging tiles or losing your tools?! But then if you get 20/30 jobs or so from it over the autumn/winter then it probably is worth it. Definately not black and white...

 

[Jimroot]

Certainly does suck. I've only ever broke the one bone, and it's the same one! Recovery took a lot longer the second time and a decade later, and still not 100% but I can run on it now so that's a good thing

I think it would need to make minimum 2k a year to be worth the hassle, and as others have noted like @TolishAPurd , if there is a better revenue stream it's not a good proposition. To me, windows are the better proposition all round. It's nice on the day to get £60 for an hour or whatever, but they aren't frequent enough to bother with IMO but I really hope my opinion changes by next Feb as per your prediction

 

[Jimroot]

How's your arm getting on with recovery @MrBump ?

 

[MrBump]

Not a prediction haha just hoping and saying need that to be worth it.

Definately windows is best as is regular, I do carpentry too and if it wasn't for the fact I enjoy it I would drop that too and just concentrate on getting a big regular window round, simple and consistent and once built no need to advertise or worry about getting work in.

I guess in an ideal world you could fill a day a week with 4/5 gutter clears over the autumn/winter. Will just take alot of marketing/advertising/canvassing or whatever to get the work, year after year, wheread windows is build a round once and all done.

Arm is still crooked and can't twist it much haha, I permanently look like a cockney with arithitis! /emoticons/biggrin.png Hurts and swells up after a days work. May get a little better but I think this is as good as I'm going to get really. Didn't hurt one bit for the week after breaking it, but after the surgery I felt like chopping it off, was a thousand times worse. Glad you can at least run away from scary customers now! Joints are the worst. Got told if it was in the middle of a bone it would be @ matter of weeks recovery and no long term damage - however as soon as its on a joint (unfortunately elbow is extra complicated) then its more like 9-12months just to find out how much movement you may or may not get back!

 

[Jimroot]

Sounds like you might need keyhole surgery to deal with scar tissue in the joint. I'm sure these days they'll fix it up eventually. At least it will be strong from the work your doing.

I'm hoping to get more free time to build a better website, my current one is one page which looks like my flyer with three photos added, so it's not going to do anything. Apart from that, the flyering has statistically achieved more now than knocking, so I'm knocking only about one in thirty which I like the look off, otherwise I've upped the hourly speed-flyering sessions.

4-5 gutter vac jobs a day a week (before a day off) all winter would be awesome. Imagine just going down a road vaccing them all out for your £100 minimum charge you'd be making more than a benefit-enhanced Somali single mother of five /emoticons/biggrin.png

 

[MrBump]

Keyhole surgery, no-ones mentioned that to me but I like the sound of it! Could solve my problem and not add to the meaty scar I've got already.

Glad to hear your flyers are picking up. Flyers have slowed down for me, did 5hrs and got 5 custys, however the last 5 hrs I've got nothing!! Getting pee'd off I may have to start knocking, problem is there are literally hundreds of windies down here so anyone who wants a windie has already got one :-( I've been working on my seo last night, its basically only a long page tho too. Problem is you can only do so much then its a case of waiting for it to go up the rankings.

How much did your gutter kit set you back?

 

[Jimroot]

Gutter kit, I'll PM you what I spent

Maybe contact your fracture clinic and ask to have a meeting with a consultant about the possibility of further corrective surgery or rehab physio. Say you work with your hands so it's important to get full mobility back asap.

Five in five hours was really good! I got two for half an hour the other week and I had a crazy smile, but it was a freak. Did another three hours the next day for nada